The White House has defended the Argentina’s football team’s right to free speech after waving of a Falklands banner in the wake of their semi-final win over England.The sign, originally held by fans but taken onto the pitch during the full-time celebrations, supported the country’s territorial claim to the islands. The flag read “Las Malvinas son Argentinas”, which translates to “The Falklands are Argentine”.It risked being in breach of the International Football Association Board’s (IFAB) rules on political flags.A number of politicians condemned the team for displaying the message in the following days, including Ed Davey — leader of the UK political party the Liberal Democrats —who suggested the players involved should be suspended from Sunday’s final against Spain.Argentina’s Cristian Romero and Giovani Lo Celso holding the banner (Thomas Coex / AFP via Getty Images)Governing body FIFA said it was “assessing match reports” before deciding whether to punish Argentina over the incident.Once FIFA has received those reports, it will make an assessment and decide on what the next steps should be. There is no set timeframe for any decisions to be made. FIFA has been approached for comment.On Friday, however, executive director of the World Cup task force Andrew Giuliani defended the celebrations. When asked if he thought the players were wrong to wave the banner, he said they had the “ability” to do so.“We believe in our First Amendment rights here in the United States of America,” Giuliani said, after being asked on his thoughts by Sky News. “In terms of the ability and opportunity to be able to make those statements, they have the ability to do that in the United States.”